Alec Young Timed Auctions and the Marketplace are the two ways to sell Items online without a live webcast, and this section covers both, from creating an Auction to archiving it.
Start here for how each works and the order you set one up in. The guides listed at the end cover each task.
This guide has been rewritten to match the current Webtron Dashboard, including the new sidebar. It is a first draft, so wording and animations may still change.
How a Timed Auction works
A Timed Auction runs between a start and an end date and time. Once it starts, Bidders can place Bids and set Auto Bids on each Lot until its countdown reaches zero. Lots close one by one, each at its own End Time.
Setting one up
You can create a Timed Auction before every detail is final and change it later. To save it you need a name and description, the Buyer’s Premium (filled in from your Auctioneer settings), the start and end dates, the viewing dates or a By Appointment Only choice, and a location. See Creating a New Timed Auction.
Options for each Auction and Item
- Lots take Bids, and can also offer Buy Now or Make Offer.
- Listings have no bidding: Buyers use Buy Now or Make Offer only.
- Bidding Extension keeps a Lot open while late Bids arrive, so Bidders always have time to respond. You can change it at any time, even while the Auction is closing.
- Stagger End Times closes Lots in batches instead of all at once, which takes the pressure off Bidders following several Lots. See Bidding Extension and Staggered End Times.
- You can add more Lots and Listings at any stage, re-order them and use letters as well as numbers for Lot numbers. See Reordering Items and Editing Item Numbers.
Managing it while it runs
The Bid Table shows Bids and Auto Bids as they arrive. From it you can cancel Bids, disable Auto Bids, and change an Item’s Increment or Reserve while the Auction is Live. See The Bid Table Overview – Viewing Item Bid Histories.
Running a Timed Auction from start to finish
Timed Auctions with Webtron
Create the Timed Auction
Fill in the Create Timed Auction form and save it. A new Auction starts in PREVIEW status, hidden from your Portal.
Add and convert Items
Create Lots and Listings in the New Items grid, or upload them from a spreadsheet, then convert them. Converted Items land on the Items tab in PREVIEW.
Add photos and attachments
Upload photos with Bulk Upload Images, Bulk Edit or VendorPlus, and attach documents or YouTube videos to Items.
Approve the Auction and Items
Approve the Auction and its Items to make them LIVE. The Auction shows on your Portal once it and at least one Item are LIVE.
Manage Bids and Bidders
While the Auction runs, watch and manage Bids in the Bid Table and approve registrations on the Registrants tab.
Reconcile the Auction
When every Item has closed, reconcile the Auction. It moves to Past Auctions on your Portal and invoicing opens.
Invoice your Buyers
Generate invoices in the Dashboard, or use VendorPlus to invoice through Xero.
Archive the Auction
When invoicing is complete, archive the Auction.
How the Marketplace works
The Marketplace is an Auction that is already set up when you start, shown on View Auctions with a red M in a circle. It works like a Timed Auction that never ends: you add Items to it at any time, and each Item has its own End Date and End Time.
- Use it for Items that don’t belong in a Timed or Webcast Auction: an Item that didn’t sell in an earlier Auction, a one-off Item, or Items that don’t need grouping into an Auction.
- It suits Expressions of Interest: list them as Listings with the Make Offer purchase option and a distant End Date, and leave them up for Buyers to find.
- Marketplace Items are listed by Category, not by Auction. When a Bidder chooses a Category, they see its Items sorted by closing date.
- Marketplace Items have the same options as Timed Auction Items: Lot or Listing, with bidding, Buy Now or Make Offer.
- The Marketplace cannot be hidden, but it only shows on your Portal while it holds at least one LIVE Item.
The Marketplace’s own end date is set far in the future so that it never closes. Changing it affects how the Marketplace works and may need a reset by Webtron. Set the End Date and End Time on each Item instead, when you create or upload it, or later through Bulk Edit.
If you only use the Marketplace, or want it shown first, your Portal can be set to open on the Marketplace. Contact us through the Get in Touch page to arrange this, or if you are unsure whether to use the Marketplace or a Timed Auction.
Running the Marketplace
The Marketplace with Webtron
Add and convert Items
Create Items in the New Items grid or upload them from a spreadsheet, giving each its own End Date and End Time, then convert them.
Add photos and attachments
Upload photos with Bulk Upload Images, Bulk Edit or VendorPlus, and attach documents or YouTube videos.
Approve your Items
Approve the Items to make them LIVE. Each one shows on your Portal until its own End Time.
Manage Bids, purchases and offers
The Marketplace has its own Bid Table and Offer Table, and its own Registrants tab.
Invoice your Buyers
When Items have sold, invoice the Buyers. Contact Webtron Support before reconciling anything in the Marketplace.
Create or import?
There are two ways to add Items to a Timed Auction or the Marketplace. Both end in the same place: the Items wait as rows in the Auction’s New Items grid until you convert them.
Creating Items in the Dashboard
Best for most Auctions, and the method we train you on. See Creating Lots and Listings for Timed Auctions & the Marketplace.
- The grid flags missing required fields as you go.
- Summaries and Descriptions take formatting such as bold, lists and tables.
- Category and Vendor are type-ahead fields, and Item Type and Purchase Option are dropdowns.
- Group Edit changes many rows at once, and Export saves the selected rows as a spreadsheet you can upload again.
- The grid is wide, so expect to scroll sideways. When pasting text in, use Ctrl Shift V (paste without formatting) to avoid bringing in unwanted formatting.
Importing Items from a spreadsheet
Best when several people catalogue together, or when you want to start before the Auction exists. See Importing Lots and Listings via Spreadsheet.
- Your team can share one spreadsheet, for example in Microsoft 365 or Google Sheets.
- Category and Vendor take ID numbers, and the file must be saved as a UTF-8 CSV.
- Spreadsheet formatting is lost on upload; add bold or lists in the Dashboard afterwards.
- Up to 1,000 Items per upload.
Good to know
- An Auction shows on your Portal only when the Auction and at least one of its Items are LIVE.
- Auctions cannot be deleted. See Editing Timed Auctions for the alternatives.
- Reports are available for Reconciled and Archived Auctions that have generated invoices. Open the Auction’s Invoices tab and select Reports at the top right.
- The Transfer, Tender and Tender_PCT purchase options are still listed in the Dashboard but are not supported.
FAQs
Not always. Bidding Extension keeps a Lot open while Bids keep arriving in its last minutes, and Stagger End Times closes Lots in batches, starting at the Auction’s end time. See Bidding Extension and Staggered End Times.
A Timed Auction is a self-contained event with its own start and end. The Marketplace never ends: you add Items to it whenever you like, each with its own End Date and End Time.
Yes. Before you reconcile the closed Auction, filter its Items tab to UNSOLD, export them, and upload the file to the new Auction. See Importing Lots and Listings via Spreadsheet. If you use VendorPlus, its Auction Manager can also copy Items between Auctions.
Yes. Many Auctioneers run Timed Auctions and list unsold or one-off Items in the Marketplace between them.
Related guides
- Creating a New Timed Auction
- Creating Lots and Listings for Timed Auctions & the Marketplace
- Importing Lots and Listings via Spreadsheet
- Editing Timed Auctions
- Managing Items in the Item List
- Reconciling and Archiving a Timed Auction
- Additional Lot and Listing Options
- All Lists, Menus and Pages Defined
In this section
13 guides
This guide covers creating a Timed Auction on both platforms. Choose yours below: the Webtron Dashboard, or VendorPlus, which syncs the Auctions you c…
This guide shows how to create Lots and Listings one at a time in the New Items grid of the Webtron Dashboard, then convert them into Items.
This guide shows how to add many Lots and Listings at once by filling in the Webtron upload spreadsheet and uploading it to the Webtron Dashboard.
This guide shows how to change a Timed Auction after you have created it: its settings, dates and Buyer's Premium, and whether it is featured or hidde…
This guide covers the Item List of an Auction in the Webtron Dashboard: what each Item status means, how to filter the list, and how to approve, withd…
This guide shows how to close out a Timed Auction in the Webtron Dashboard: withdraw any Suspended Items, reconcile the Auction, and archive it when y…
Two settings decide how Bidders can deal with an Item in a Timed Auction or the Marketplace: its Item Type (Lot or Listing) and its Purchase Option (b…